Background: Achieving optimal analgesia with few side effects is the goal of pain management after cesarean delivery. Intrathecal (IT) morphine is the current standard but ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block (QLB) may offer superior pain control with fewer side effects. This study compared the pain-free period after cesarean delivery among parturients who received spinal block with IT morphine, with IT morphine and bilateral QLB, or only bilateral QLB.
Methods: Parturients having elective cesarean delivery under spinal block were randomized and allocated into IT morphine 0.2 mg with sham QLB (Group IT), IT morphine 0.2 mg and bilateral QLB with 0.25% bupivacaine 25 ml in each side (Group IT+QLB), or bilateral QLB with 0.25% bupivacaine 25 ml in each side (Group QLB). A PCA pump was connected after completion of the QLB or sham block. The first time to PCA morphine requirement was recorded and compared.
Results: Eighty parturients were included. Analysis of Group QLB was terminated early because at the second interim analysis, median pain-free period is significantly shorter in Group QLB [hours (95%CI): 2.50 (1.04-3.96) in Group IT vs. 7.75 (5.67-9.83) in IT+QLB vs. 1.75 (0.75-2.75) in QLB (p<0.001)]. The median (min, max) amount of morphine required during 24 hours was 5.5 (0-25) in Group IT vs. 5.0 (0-36) in IT+QLB vs. 17.5 (1-40) mg in Group QLB (p<0.001). In the final analysis the median pain-free period was 2.50 (1.23-3.77) hours (95%CI) in Group IT (n=27) vs. 8.02 (5.96-10.07) in IT+QLB (n=28). (p=0.027).
Conclusion: US-QLB used in conjunction with IT morphine yielded a statistically significant longer median pain-free period compared with standard IT morphine alone. However, QLB alone provided inferior pain control compared with standard IT morphine. When combined with IT morphine, QLB can provide additional analgesic benefit as a part of multimodal analgesic regimen, especially during the early postoperative period.

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Posted 21 Jan, 2021
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Posted 21 Jan, 2021
Received 03 Feb, 2021
On 03 Feb, 2021
Received 20 Jan, 2021
On 19 Jan, 2021
Invitations sent on 17 Jan, 2021
On 17 Jan, 2021
On 13 Jan, 2021
On 13 Jan, 2021
On 13 Jan, 2021
On 14 Dec, 2020
Received 13 Dec, 2020
Received 29 Nov, 2020
On 23 Nov, 2020
Invitations sent on 21 Nov, 2020
On 21 Nov, 2020
On 17 Nov, 2020
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On 19 Oct, 2020
Received 22 Sep, 2020
Received 04 Aug, 2020
On 15 Jul, 2020
On 15 Jul, 2020
Invitations sent on 02 Jul, 2020
On 01 Jul, 2020
On 24 Jun, 2020
On 24 Jun, 2020
Background: Achieving optimal analgesia with few side effects is the goal of pain management after cesarean delivery. Intrathecal (IT) morphine is the current standard but ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block (QLB) may offer superior pain control with fewer side effects. This study compared the pain-free period after cesarean delivery among parturients who received spinal block with IT morphine, with IT morphine and bilateral QLB, or only bilateral QLB.
Methods: Parturients having elective cesarean delivery under spinal block were randomized and allocated into IT morphine 0.2 mg with sham QLB (Group IT), IT morphine 0.2 mg and bilateral QLB with 0.25% bupivacaine 25 ml in each side (Group IT+QLB), or bilateral QLB with 0.25% bupivacaine 25 ml in each side (Group QLB). A PCA pump was connected after completion of the QLB or sham block. The first time to PCA morphine requirement was recorded and compared.
Results: Eighty parturients were included. Analysis of Group QLB was terminated early because at the second interim analysis, median pain-free period is significantly shorter in Group QLB [hours (95%CI): 2.50 (1.04-3.96) in Group IT vs. 7.75 (5.67-9.83) in IT+QLB vs. 1.75 (0.75-2.75) in QLB (p<0.001)]. The median (min, max) amount of morphine required during 24 hours was 5.5 (0-25) in Group IT vs. 5.0 (0-36) in IT+QLB vs. 17.5 (1-40) mg in Group QLB (p<0.001). In the final analysis the median pain-free period was 2.50 (1.23-3.77) hours (95%CI) in Group IT (n=27) vs. 8.02 (5.96-10.07) in IT+QLB (n=28). (p=0.027).
Conclusion: US-QLB used in conjunction with IT morphine yielded a statistically significant longer median pain-free period compared with standard IT morphine alone. However, QLB alone provided inferior pain control compared with standard IT morphine. When combined with IT morphine, QLB can provide additional analgesic benefit as a part of multimodal analgesic regimen, especially during the early postoperative period.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
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